Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: October 29, 1923.
Constitution: November 7, 1982. Amended in 1987, 1995, 2001, and 2007.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime minister (head of government), Council of Ministers (cabinet--appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister). Legislative--Grand National Assembly (550 members) chosen by national elections at least every 4 years. Judicial--Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation, Council of State, and other courts.
Political parties with representatives in Parliament: Justice and Development Party (AKP) (337 seats), Republican People's Party (CHP) (97 seats), Nationalist Action Party (MHP) (69 seats), Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) (20 seats), Democratic Left Party (DSP) (8 seats), Democrat Party (DP) (1 seat), Turkey Party (TP) (1 seat), eleven independents, and six vacant seats.
Suffrage: Universal, 18 and older.
National holiday: Republic Day, October 29.

PEOPLE
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling cosmopolitan centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than 70% of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

The Turkish state has been officially secular since 1924. Approximately 99% of the population is Muslim. Most Turkish Muslims follow the Sunni traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and Shiite traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a Kurdish identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated approximately 12 million in number.

HISTORY
Mustafa Kemal, celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish World War I hero and later known as "Ataturk" or "father of the Turks," led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old Ottoman Empire and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of northern Africa, southeastern Europe, and western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Russian, French and Italian forces from Anatolia in a bitter war. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core--Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Ataturk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Ataturk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The ruling AKP comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve European Union (EU) accession.

Turkey entered World War II on the Allied side shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the United Nations. Difficulties faced by Greece after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the Soviet Union for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the Truman Doctrine in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the Marshall Plan. After participating with United Nations forces in the Korean conflict, Turkey in 1952 joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Turkey is currently a European Union candidate.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as democratic, secular, and parliamentary. The presidency's powers are not precisely defined in practice, and the president's influence depends on his personality and political weight. The president and the Council of Ministers, led by the prime minister, share executive powers. The current president, who has broad powers of appointment and supervision, was elected by Parliament in August 2007 for a seven-year term. Pursuant to a constitutional amendment package approved by voters in an October 2007 referendum, the president is directly elected by the voters for a term of 5 years and can serve for a maximum of two terms. The prime minister administers the government. The prime minister and the Council of Ministers are responsible to Parliament.

The 550-member Parliament carries out legislative functions. Election is by the D'Hondt system of party-list proportional representation. To participate in the distribution of seats, a party must obtain at least 10% of the votes cast at the national level as well as a percentage of votes in the contested district according to a complex formula. The president enacts laws passed by Parliament within 15 days. With the exception of budgetary laws, the president may return a law to the Parliament for reconsideration. If Parliament reenacts the law, it is binding, although the president may then apply to the Constitutional Court for a reversal of the law. Constitutional amendments pass with a 60% vote, but require a popular referendum unless passed with a two-thirds majority; the president may also submit amendments passed with a two-thirds majority to a popular referendum.

In the November 2002 election of Turkey's 58th government, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) captured 34.3% of the total votes, making Abdullah Gul Prime Minister, followed by the Republican People's Party (CHP) with 19.39% of the vote, led by Deniz Baykal. A special general election was held again in the province of Siirt in March 2003, resulting in the election of AKP's chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan to a seat in Parliament, allowing him to become prime minister and solidifying AKP’s position in Parliament.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly was to have elected in May 2007 a new president to succeed President Sezer, whose term ended on May 16. Opposition parties led a Constitutional Court challenge to the electoral procedures, which resulted in a series of proposed constitutional amendments and early general elections on July 22. AKP won 46.6% of the vote, followed by CHP (20.9%), MHP (14.3%) and independents (5.2%). The new Parliament, which was sworn in on August 4, 2007 included 341 AKP members, 97 CHP members, 71 Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) members, 20 Democratic Society Party (DTP) members, 13 Democratic Left Party (DSP) members, one Freedom and Democracy Party (ODP) member, one Grand Unity Party (BBP) member, and five independents. Following the election, Sezer reappointed Erdogan as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Gul again declared his presidential candidacy. The Parliament elected Gul in the third round of voting on August 28, 2007. Following Gul's move to the presidency, AKP seats in Parliament total 340; an MHP deputy died in August 2007, bringing the number of MHP members to 70; and the ban on a DTP deputy expired in July 2008, raising the number of DTP members to 21. President Gul approved Erdogan's proposed cabinet on August 29, 2007, and the new government received a vote of confidence on September 5.

Nationwide local elections for provincial general assembly, municipal assembly, and mayoral positions were held March 29, 2009. AKP received 38.39% of the votes in provincial general assemblies and a similar percentage in municipal assemblies. CHP and MHP followed AKP with 23% and 15% respectively. AKP won 10 of 16 metropolitan municipality mayoralties. Though AKP won the elections, party leaders had hoped for a larger percentage of the vote. Prime Minister Erdogan reshuffled his cabinet on May 1, 2009.

The Judiciary. The judiciary is declared to be independent, but the need for judicial reform and confirmation of its independence are subjects of open debate. Internationally recognized human rights, including freedom of thought, expression, assembly, and travel, are officially enshrined in the Constitution but have at times been narrowly interpreted, can be limited in times of emergency, and cannot be used to violate what the Constitution and the courts consider the integrity of the state or to impose a system of government based on religion, ethnicity, or the domination of one social class. The Constitution prohibits torture or ill treatment; the current government has focused on ensuring that practice matches principle. The law provides most but not all workers with the right to associate and form unions, subject to diverse restrictions.

The high court system includes a Constitutional Court responsible for judicial review of legislation, a Court of Cassation (or Supreme Court of Appeals), a Council of State serving as the high administrative and appeals court, a Court of Accounts, and a Military Court of Appeals. The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, appointed by the president, supervises the judiciary.

In March 2008 the Constitutional Court agreed to hear a case to close down the AKP because of alleged "anti-secular" activities that contravene the Turkish Constitution. Seventy-one AKP members, including President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan, were named in the case and could have been barred from politics for five years. On July 30, 2008 the court voted six in favor and five against closing down AKP; seven votes were required to close down the party. The court decided to cut the party's state funding, worth about $58 million, in half. None of the AKP members were banned. On December 11, 2009 the Constitutional Court closed the DTP party for its association with the PKK terrorist organization and imposed a 5-year ban from politics on 37 of its members. The remaining elected officials reunited under the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

Principal Government Officials
President of the Republic--Abdullah Gul
Prime Minister--Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Ahmet Davutoglu
Ambassador to the United States--Namik Tan
Ambassador to the United Nations--Ertugrul Apakan

ECONOMY
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Ozal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a customs union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001, a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001), and an increase in unemployment. Turkey's economy recovered strongly from the 2001 recession thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 6.0% per year from 2002 through 2007--one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. During this period, inflation and interest rates fell significantly, the currency stabilized, and government debt declined to more supportable levels (39.5% of GDP in 2008). However, booming economic growth contributed to a growing current account deficit (-5.6% of GDP or $41.6 billion in 2008). Growth fell to 1.1% in 2008 and the economy contracted by an estimated 6% in 2009 due to the global economic slowdown and reduced exports, but growth is expected to pick up to 3.5% in 2010. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, and securing independent Central Bank monetary policies is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.3 billion in net foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2008. Global market conditions reduced foreign capital inflows in 2009, and Turkey is expected to attract around $10 billion in net FDI in 2010. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.

EU Accession. Turkey and the then-European Economic Community (EEC) entered into an Association Agreement in December 1964. Turkey and the EU also formed a customs union in 1995, and in 1999 the European Council granted the status of candidate country to Turkey. Accession negotiations with Turkey were opened in October 2005. So far, negotiations have been opened on 12 of the 33 chapters required for admission, and 12 chapters have been blocked by EU members. Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth and a well functioning market economy. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial institutions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy, and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communataire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

Energy. Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 40,000 megawatts (MW) as of 2008. Fossil fuels account for 68% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 32%. Electricity demand in Turkey has been above the average rate of GNP growth over the last few years. This, combined with the lack of investment in the sector, mainly due to the Government of Turkey's (GOT) control over prices and slow progress in market liberalization, increased concerns regarding electricity shortages. Official data indicated that Turkey would face electricity shortages as of 2009; however, the Government of Turkey revised its projections after experiencing reductions in demand in late 2008, due to the global economic crisis. The Ministry of Energy declared a 4.5% annual growth in electricity demand in 2009, half the amount of demand growth in previous years. In 2008, the Government of Turkey passed new legislation to encourage investment in the sector, which introduces incentives for companies bringing their facilities online by 2012. Turkey was able to privatize four of its electricity distribution facilities in 2008, and intended to continue these privatizations in 2009. Privatization of the generation facilities is next in line. The speed of these privatizations will depend on investment appetite and availability of financing.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS, which was privatized in 2005. Turkey has a refining capacity of 714,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million barrels/day of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) started bringing natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey's interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey, came online in November 2007. In July 2009, Turkey signed the Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement, along with Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. Once completed, the 2,000-mile natural gas pipeline will stretch from Erzurum, Turkey to Baumgarten, Austria and will have a 31 billion cubic meter capacity.

Telecommunications. Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The Electronic Communication Law passed in 2008 gave greater autonomy to the Telecommunication Authority. The authority realized some important projects in 2008. Introduction of number portability was a big step forward, encouraging more competition among the GSM mobile phone operators. The authority also held a 3G License tender in 2008, where all the GSM operators participated and started implementing this new technology in Turkey.

The long-expected privatization of the state-owned fixed-line telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. The company remains as a monopoly in fixed lines, but the GSM operators' competition against Turk Telekom has been increasing. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

Environment. With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining--and serious--environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.

After long years of silence, Turkey's becoming a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol was back on the agenda in 2007, and a focus of Prime Minister Erdogan's speech at the UN General Assembly. Despite the positive approach, Turkey would still like to keep its reservation to get developing country treatment with regard to the emission levels set by the protocol.

Transport. The Turkish Government gives special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, but the government has lately sought to elevate relations with Middle Eastern neighbors and Central Asian countries.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. NATO's Air Component Command Headquarters is located in Izmir and NATO's Rapid Deployable Corps-Turkey is headquartered in Istanbul. Turkey has made important contributions to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, commanding ISAF twice (2002 and 2005), and is currently in command of Regional-Command Capital, with more than 1,700 troops stationed in Kabul.

Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession.

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more were opened in June 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels--a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Additional Protocol and its EU customs union membership. Two new chapters were opened in each of the successive EU presidencies--December 2007 under the Portuguese, June 2008 under the Slovenians, and December 2008 under the French--bringing the total to 10 open chapters. A twelfth chapter on the environment was opened under the Swedish presidency in December 2009.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

In October 2008 Turkey was elected to hold a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2009-2010. Turkey took that seat January 1, 2009 and held the rotating presidency in June 2009.

U.S.-TURKEY RELATIONS
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, counterterrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue. President George W. Bush welcomed Prime Minister Erdogan to Washington for a White House visit on November 5, 2007, during which he committed to provide greater assistance to Turkey in its fight against terrorism from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK or Kongra Gel), which he characterized as a "common enemy" of Turkey, Iraq, and the United States. He reiterated this commitment during President Gul's January 8, 2008, White House visit. Turkey allows the use of Incirlik Air Base for the transport of non-lethal cargo in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After just three months in the White House, President Barack Obama paid a historic visit to Turkey April 5-7, 2009, as the first bilateral visit of his presidency. During the visit, he spoke before the Turkish Parliament and outlined his vision of a model U.S.-Turkish partnership based on mutual interests and mutual respect. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also prioritized the U.S.-Turkey relationship, and included a stop in Turkey on her first European trip, visiting Ankara on March 7, 2009. On December 7, 2009, Prime Minister Erdogan met with President Obama at the White House. During the visit, the U.S. and Turkey launched the Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation, a new cabinet-level initiative focused on boosting trade and investment ties. In addition to the new framework, the U.S. and Turkey hold annual meetings of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council, which met in Turkey in January 2009, and Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Washington in April 2008. In 2008, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $4.3 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $11.9 billion.

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